


Safe and Sound

by literato



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Character Injury, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Robots, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 07:32:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18545158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literato/pseuds/literato
Summary: "You're mad at me." Steve says. He's leaning against the glass of the elevator."You guessed right." Bucky says. Steve really isn't the mood for a fight. He just wants to lay down and get a shut eye, but he knows he won't be able to when Bucky's mad at him.Steve sighs, "What did you want me to do, Buck? Hide in the corner and hope for the best?"Bucky scoffs. He's still not looking at him, "As if you could actually do that."orwhere Steve offers too much than what Bucky can handle.





	Safe and Sound

**Author's Note:**

> just a little something i wrote under thirty minutes kslsksks. this is really, really self-indulgent.

 

  
They're back in the quinject, having finished a fight with this strange witch of some sort. The fight was difficult. Clint's knocked out from exhaustion, and even Natasha is a bit shaken up. Steve stays sitting, shield between his legs. He can feel the dull ache of his side from where the witch's some kind of laser blasted him off. He was trying to get closer, and the shield took the hit and he bounced off hundreds of meters away and straight into concrete.

The pain subsides though, because he looks forward and sees Bucky. He's sat on the floor, back to the wall as he rests his head back. He's got his eyes closed, and Steve knows they're only closed because if they're not, they'll surely be glaring at him. He hasn't uttered a single word to him, not even a single touch. When Steve was getting patched up, just minutes ago, he was close by, arms crossed and eyes watching every bit of one of Tony's robots as it covered Steve's wound. After that, Steve had reached out to him, but Bucky just stepped away and went to his spot that he's sitting on right now.

They eventually land on the roof of the tower, and slowly the team make their way to their own floors, barely waving a goodbye as they part. It's only Natasha who sends a pointed look towards Steve as they both notice Bucky marching up to the elevators. refusing to even be around Steve.

"Brace yourself." She says, and Steve does.

Bucky's waiting for him inside the elevator, and Steve makes his way inside. Jarvis takes them to their floor, and it's a few minutes of silence.

"You're mad at me." Steve says. He's leaning against the glass of the elevator.

"You guessed right." Bucky says. Steve really isn't the mood for a fight. He just wants to lay down and get a shut eye, but he knows he won't be able to when Bucky's mad at him.

Steve sighs, "What did you want me to do, Buck? Hide in the corner and hope for the best?"

Bucky scoffs. He's still not looking at him, "As if you could actually do that."

The elevator doors open and Bucky walks off to their apartment and into their bedroom where he starts to unstrap his uniform one by one.

"Then what the hell are you getting mad at me for?" Steve asks. The silence is frustrating him. He's used to Bucky yelling at him and pushing at him for the same damn thing, but now he's just taking off his boots and pushing them to the side. Steve watches him, hands clenched at his sides, as Bucky strips from the uniform. He manages to get his top off when Steve grabs him by the arm.

"Will you just-- fucking say something?" Steve bites out.

Bucky shrugs his arm off, and for the first time he looks at Steve straight in the eye, "If I do, will that change anything?" He says. Steve can see every bit of emotion in his eyes: anger, frustration, "You can only take so much, Steve." He turns and begins to walk to the bathroom.

"It's just a hit, Buck!" Steve cries out helplessly, and the effort has him in pain and cursing under his breath. He falls to the bed, staring at the ceiling.

He prefers the yelling a thousand times more than this.

 

  
\-----

 

  
Bucky didn't sleep in their bed last night. Nor did he stay in their apartment. After his shower, he just grabbed a bag and went out without a single word. And now, Steve's in the dining room, hunched over his sad bowl of cereal. Only Sam, Thor, and Clint are there. Even if Clint's presence isn't actually felt because he's still dozed off.

"You still look exhausted, Steven." Thor says. He looks strangely domestic, only wearing a pair of pajamas and a tank top and a yellow bathrobe.

"Rough night." Steve says.

"You and Bucky…" Sam starts, observant, "You two alright?"

Steve doesn't answer. He can feel Thor and Sam look at each other, "Look, Steven, I only know so much about intimate relations but," Thor tries, "I feel like your James is only worried about you."

"He knows my job." Steve says into his cereal bowl, "He knows risking lives is a part of it. I mean, we have the same job, for God's sake!"

"Yeah." Sam agrees, thank God, "Doesn't mean you two work the same."

Steve frowns.

"Look, man, I'm not taking sides." Sam says, "But anyone would have a heart attack seeing the love of their lives bouncing and flirtin' with death."

"I'm not--"

"Like yesterday," Sam butts in, sending him a pointed look, "That hit was completely unnecessary." He gestures to Steve.

"I'm fine! You guys know I heal." Steve is stubborn and he knows it, "I'm just frustrated that Bucky can't seem to just absorb the fact that I can take care of myself."

"Uh-- Steven--"

"And God, just for one second, I hope he stops fucking babying me because I'm not that little guy he knew before!"

"But you're just as dumb as he is."

Steve snaps his head up at the new voice. The voice that he's been aching to hear these past few hours. Bucky is standing on the doorway. He looks like he just arrived from where he went, because he still has his bag on his shoulder. And Steve's heart clenches from the possibility that he'd asked Jarvis where Steve was and went straight to him instead of their floor.

Steve stands, "Buck."

"You really don't fucking get it." Bucky's voice is low and flat. When he moves, he just places distance between him and Steve.

"Bucky!" Steve calls after him. Bucky disappears into the elevator with a bark of, "Jarvis!" and the elevator doors close before Steve can squeeze a toe in.

"Jarvis!" Steve exclaims.

"Apologies, Captain. Sergeant Barnes wishes to have a bit of privacy." Jarvis says almost apologetically.

Steve punches the metal, and it creates a bit of a dent.

 

  
\-----

 

  
The silence stretches on for two more days. It's hell. Steve can barely focus on meetings because Bucky's sat a few seats away from him. He's an arm away but he still feels so far. He misses him so much and when is this gonna end?

Steve is currently on his bed, stretched out in the middle. He's twirling a pencil on his hand, his sketchbook laid out on his stomach. It's almost midnight, and from what Steve knows, Bucky's last location had been on the gym. But that was hours ago.

The sound of their door opening has Steve up. Bucky enters their bedroom without a word, duffel bag over his shoulder. He's sweaty and he has his hair up in a ponytail. He looks exhausted but Steve's heart jumps at the sight of him.

"Buck." He says. He stands, putting his sketchbook and pencil aside.

Bucky doesn't acknowledge him. He dumps his dirty clothes on the hamper and goes to the closet, changing out of his shirt.

Steve sighs and steps closer. He, slowly, puts his hands on Bucky's waist, rests his head on his shoulder. Bucky doesn't pull away, nor does he lean into it. Steve takes it as a good sign anyway. He breathes in Bucky's smell: musky, strong, and just like him. He kisses his shoulder, "I miss you." And he knows they'll survive through this stupid, stupid fight. It's torture being away from Bucky, but it's like a breath of fresh air every time he's with him.

Bucky still doesn't answer. Steve begins to wrap his arms around him, and there Bucky stiffens and pulls away. Steve sighs, "Bucky..."

"Don't act like we're fine." Bucky says.

"Can't we just forget about what happened?" Steve asks, "Please."

"Forget that your dumbass almost managed to get killed? Again?" Bucky scoffs, "Yeah, right." He begins to shove new clothes into his bag.

"I'm here right now! And I'm not going anywhere!" Steve raises his voice, because he can't help it, "Buck, I'm given the serum so I can save lives. I can't just-- tiptoe and avoid everything that's coming towards me! You act like I can't handle myself, Buck, and I'm sick of it."

Bucky turns, and throws his bag at Steve. It hits Steve on the chest, but it doesn't faze him at all, "You're right. You're here, and you've got super healing powers, and you're a super soldier." Bucky deadpans and he crowds into Steve's space, "But is any of that gonna matter when you're dead, huh, Steve? Tell me."

His voice and body screams offense, but Steve can see his eyes. Past all that anger, there's one emotion he failed to see and that's fear. Steve suddenly feels like the biggest asshole on the planet.

"You talk about your big muscles, and your big shield, but how are those gonna help when you're gone?" Bucky says, "Look, I _know_ you can handle yourself. I _know_ you're strong enough. But don't fucking blame me for wanting you to stay alive after every goddamn fight you throw yourself at. Tell me that I'm wrong, that I don't understand you or whatever, but I'm just scared of losing you."

All the anger washes away when Steve hears Bucky's voice crack. He slumps, reaching for Bucky's hand, "Buck, I--"

Bucky pulls his hand away, "Don't wait up for me." He walks past Steve, his bag slung over his shoulder. He doesn't make it very far, because suddenly the familiar alarm is blaring around the tower.

 

  
\--------

 

  
It's a giant robot this time, and Tony's armor is, for the first time in forever, useless in trying to penetrating through it. Even Hulk can't get near the thing without being plucked off. Natasha and Steve are on the ground right now, while Clint and Bucky stay high to try and shoot as many robots as possible. Besides that, the robot also has tiny minions, which are a real pain more than the giant itself.

"Tony!" Steve calls to the intercom, shaking off one tiny robot off his arm and stomping another by his feet, "Get inside the robot!"

"Excuse me?" Tony huffs.

"Just try to--" Steve grunts. He throws his shield, wiping out a dozen of the tiny robots in one swipe, "Attack it from the inside! Thor!"

"On it!" Thor calls out.

It happens before Steve can expect it. As he kicks a car towards a wall, crushing hundreds of those little bastards, Clint is suddenly yelling through intercom, "Barnes is falling! Sam!"

Steve whips to the building where Clint and Bucky is supposed to be, and Steve sees Bucky clinging to the side off the roof, being attacked by the little robots while Clint fights them off as quickly as he could.

"Bucky!" Steve barrels through the whole mess with his shield, knocking and stomping over the robots like toys. He looks up, and his heart stops when he sees Bucky fall from the building. He tries so hard not to flashback, but Bucky's falling. Bucky's falling /again/ and Steve can't.. won't survive it again.

"Sam!" Steve demands through the intercom, and he runs to where Bucky is. He knows it's impossible to catch him from that high, but fuck that. Fuck everything.

"Got him." Sam says, and Steve looks up just in time to see Sam fly down and catch Bucky. Steve can't calm down, not when he sees Bucky limp in Sam's hold.

"Barnes is down. I'm taking him to the quinjet." And then Sam says, "He'll be fine, Steve."

And shit. Steve's heart is hammering. For the first time, he doesn't know what to do. He's stuck on the ground, and there's an army of robots fighting his team. His knees are shaking, and he takes a moment to take off his helmet to be able to breathe properly.

"Get back here, Cap!" Natasha snaps.

Steve gets his grip together, telling himself that Bucky would be more pissed if he just stood there like an idiot.

So he throws himself back to the fight, his mind set on going back to Bucky without so much as a scratch.

 

  
\----

 

  
"Where is he?" Steve asks. They just got back from the tower, and Steve has been on edge the whole trip. He won't stop fidgeting, and a few tears may or may not have escaped through the ten-minute flight back to the tower.

"He'll be alright." Dr. Cho says, "He hit his head on the way down, but thankfully he didn't have any impact than that."

Steve is hit with guilt. He's gonna make sure to thank Sam after. But Steve pushes that aside for later, "But he'll be…?"

"He's gonna be unconscious for a few hours, or it can last a few days. Other than that, he's okay. You can see him right now." Dr. Cho nods to the room, and Steve thanks her before making his way inside.

Bucky is lying on the bed, attached to an IV. He has a bandage around his head and a few band aids here and there. Steve chokes down a sob, sitting on the chair beside Bucky's bed. He can't even touch him, too afraid that one wrong movement would mess with Bucky's healing.

He feels-- fucking terrible. He wants to get angry at Bucky for only watching Steve's six and not his own. He wants to scold him when he wakes, smack him and tell him off. But that would be a bit hypocritical for him. Steve runs a hand on his face, isn't surprised when it comes back wet.

He puts a hand on Bucky's, simply touching, "You gotta hold onto me, you jerk."

 

\----

 

  
"Hey, man." Sam greets. Steve has been in Bucky's room for two hours before he came in.

Steve lifts his head off the mattress, "Hey. Listen, thank you for getting there on time for him."

Sam stands on the other side of Bucky's bed, hands in his pockets, "Well, he's an asshole but he's my friend." He sighs, "Besides, you two still have some things to fix."

Steve lets out a deep breath, "I get him." He says, "He tells me that I almost get my ass killed and now he's the one who's here, and I've never been so scared in my life." He reaches forward and places his hand back on Bucky.

"Well, you gotta know that it's the same for him." Sam tells him.

Sreve nods wordlessly. He leans down and places a kiss on Bucky's palm, nuzzling on it.

Sam sighs, "You idiots will fix it eventually."

 

  
\----

 

  
It takes Bucky fourteen hours and twenty-four minutes before he wakes up. Steve is drinking his coffee, facing the window. He hears a yawn from behind him, and he whips around. Just like that, he's back to breathing normally again.

"Buck." Steve practically trips over his feet getting to him. He drops back into the chair, holding Bucky's hand, "Fuck, are you okay?"

Bucky raises his other hand to scratch at his eyes, "I was only taking a nap."

Steve smiles, feels his eyes wet. He's okay, "Your nap lasted fourteen hours."

Bucky looks confused for a second, before he asks, "What happened?"

Steve holds onto his hand with both his. He can't resist, bringing that hand to his lips, "You fell, hit your head."

Bucky nods, "And?" He still looks defensive, shoulders tensed and his fingers are flexing under Steve's grip.

"And I'm sorry." Steve kisses his hands again, "I was selfish and I wasn't giving you a chance. I get it. I can't-- seeing you fall, I almost dropped. I couldn't-- not again."

Bucky's eyes look far away for a second, probably deep in thought, before he mutters, "Now you know how it feels."

"Fuck, I do." Steve breathes out. He stands from his chair and sits back down on the bed, facing Bucky. He puts a hand on his cheek, "I do, Buck. I was so scared." He feels his eyes tear up again, and Bucky softens, letting his defense fall. He holds Steve's wrist, kissing his palm.

Steve lets out a relieved laugh, "I'm so sorry."

Bucky nods, "We'll be fine, doll," and he leans in to press their lips together. Steve moans at the feeling. He can't believe he lived through three days without this. He places a hand on Buck's nape, pulling him closer.

They pull away eventuslly, and Steve trails his kisses to his cheek and to his jaw down to his neck and to his shoulder until he can pull him into a gentle hug. He digs his face into Bucky's neck, breathes in, "I love you."

Bucky hums back his response, and Steve is just glad they're okay again.


End file.
